Control of Movement is Distributed and Heterarchical

Abstract

What can we learn about the principles of motor control by looking at the nervous system? There are few examples of movements for which the neural control is known extensively. Those for which the neural substrate is perhaps best understood are stereotypic rhythmic movements such as breathing and locomotion. For many of these movements there exists a neural network which can produce a motor output having many of the temporal characteristics of the movement. Such networks, called (CPGs), can often function in the complete absence of either sensory feedback or descending control (Delcomyn 1980). However, in all cases, sensory inputs and descending control contribute significantly and can entrain and modulate the basic rhythm.